{"id":3353,"date":"2022-03-02T09:39:24","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T09:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toomanyrackets.com\/?p=3353"},"modified":"2023-10-17T14:11:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T14:11:32","slug":"mixed-doubles-in-tennis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toomanyrackets.com\/mixed-doubles-in-tennis\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed Doubles in Tennis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A mixed doubles match in tennis involves teams of two (one man and one woman) playing each other, using the same rules as regular men’s and women’s doubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mixed is mostly seen at the recreational level and is less frequently seen at the professional level as there aren’t that many ATP\/WTA combined tournaments<\/strong> where a mixed tournament would be feasible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professional mixed tournaments are now mostly limited to the Grand Slam tournaments, the Olympics<\/a>, United Cup<\/a>, and the Hopman Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mixed<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When did Mixed Doubles in Tennis start?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mixed Doubles<\/strong> (or “XD”) has a long history in tennis with the first grand slam mixed match being played at the 1887 US Open Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also included as an event in the Olympics in 1900, 1912, 1920, and 1924 but was excluded from the Olympics held between 1925 and 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in 2012, XD was included again as an event at the London Olympics and was also included as an event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also now included as an event at each of the four grand slam tournaments (Australian Open<\/strong>, French Open<\/strong>, Wimbledon<\/strong>, and US Open<\/strong>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also included as the third rubber in the Hopman Cup, which was a tournament played in Australia up until 2019 and was used as a warm up tournament ahead of the Australian Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hopman Cup was one of my favorite tournaments as you got to see players like Serena Williams<\/a> and Roger Federer<\/a> play on the same court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2019 was the last time the Hopman Cup was played in Australia but thankfully tournament organizers have announced <\/a>that the Hopman Cup will return in 2023, but this time it will be played on clay courts in Nice, France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you Play Mixed Doubles in Tennis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mixed Doubles<\/strong> follows the same rules as regular doubles with the only difference being that it is played with one man and one woman per team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in some tennis formats e.g. Fast Four Tennis<\/a> where no advantage is played when the score reaches 40 all, the general rule is that if a male player is serving then he will serve to the male player on the other team and if a female player is serving then she will serve to the female player on the other team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Many Sets Are in Mixed Doubles Tennis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most XD Tennis matches are played in a best of three sets format with the final set being a 10 point tiebreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in some matches, a full third set will be played but this format is not commonly used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mixed Doubles on the ATP and WTA Tours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Australian Open<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first mixed competition at the Australian Open<\/a> was held in 1922 with Esna Boyd Robertson and John Hawkes<\/strong> claiming the first mixed title at the Australian Open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current Australian Open champions are Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos<\/strong> who beat Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna 7-6, 6-2<\/strong> in the 2023 Australian Open mixed final – see match highlights from the final below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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